fightful

Select Portions: Ospreay-ROH, Mania, Bianca, More

- A WWE source indicated to us today that the Hall of Fame would be a "fun one" tonight. 

- Tony Khan noted this week that Will Ospreay was originally booked for ROH Supercard of Honor. We've been told Konosuke Takeshita was the opponent planned. 

- WWE has a final production meeting for WrestleMania Saturday morning. 

- Regarding this morning's WWE-Puerto Rico report, we encourage you to check out Wrestlenomics, who had an extensive piece on it. 

-...

WWE getting good payday from PR shows

WWE sources claim they are getting paid a handsome amount of money to bring the Backlash premium live event to Puerto Rico, as well as Smackdown.

In recent years, WWE has made an effort to bring more of their premium live events and television shows to international arenas and stadiums across the globe. This trend started when the company began their partnership with Saudi Arabia in 2018, a place where they now host two PLEs every year.

According to sources familiar with the sit...

Several big names had been pitched for John Cena for Mania

Austin Theory ended up getting the spot, but several wrestlers had been pushing to work with John Cena.

Dating back to last Summer, there was top level talent in WWE who were angling to work with Cena on the WrestleMania show. We're told that several talent that got wind of Cena being planned for WrestleMania, and open to what will be his first WrestleMania singles match in front of a live crowd since 2018. At one point, there were actually people within WWE who were pushing for Cody Rh...

Ask Your Questions Here! IMPACT Wrestling & NJPW Multiverse United Exclusive FIGHTFUL SELECT Q&A/Pre-Show

Scott Edwards joins Rob Wilkins for the IMPACT Wrestling & NJPW Multiverse United Exclusive FIGHTFUL SELECT Q&A/Pre-Show.

Youtube Link:
https://www.youtube.com/live/4SdBf3DoIx4?feature=share

WRESTLEMANIA WEEK SELECT PORTIONS

- We will be updating this throughout the day with other news bits

- Fightful Select confirmed with WWE that John Cena and Austin Theory are opening night 1. Many people were confused by a graphic that had them prominently featured.

- Charlotte Flair told us that her December 30 return was just supposed to be her returning and starting an angle with Ronda Rousey.

- Great Muta got into town for his HOF induction earlier this week.

- NXT Battleground May 28 in Lowell...

Story behind Drew Gulak helping Steve Austin prepare for Mania 38

Stone Cold Steve Austin's status for WrestleMania remains unknown, but he did make a comeback last year.

Fightful Select had reported in January of 2022 that WWE was planning to bring Stone Cold Steve Austin out of retirement. Austin himself had been hesitant since his initial 2003 retirement, and was very particular about how the right situation would present itself. Not only that, Fightful has learned that Vince McMahon was also very particular in making sure that Austin was ready for...

Update on contract status of several luchas in AEW/ROH

AEW and Ring of Honor are using three talented luchadores, but they're not under contract right now to the company

El Hijo Del Vikingo made his AEW debut on March 23 against Kenny Omega to audience acclaim, and was subsequently booked for ROH Supercard of Honor. In addition, Komander had worked an AEW ladder match originally planned for Vikingo, and is also working Supercard of Honor. In the same boat is Dralistico.

Fightful asked about the contract status of each of the three, ...

Select Portions: Vince's Office, Matt Jackson, Tons of Mania Week newqs.

- Regarding the "Vince's office" note from our Vince McMahon/sale story, we've been told that while the sign hasn't been changed, it’s more of a production/set design area that it leads to.

- WWE has an integration with C4 for their NIL program this week.

- Despite Matt Jackson's injury, we're told there's a good chance he remains on television in some capacity.

- ROH will hold a media call with Tony Khan to promote Supercard of Honor Thursday.

- As one would exp...

Carmella Update

Carmella hasn't been on Raw lately, and was pulled from recent live events, but she will be around this week.

A WWE source had indicated to Fightful earlier this week that Carmella had been "sidelined," but didn't indicate why. When Fightful asked about unsubstantiated rumors that circulated about her having heat, they were dismissed as "ridiculous" by WWE sources.

As of Tuesday, Carmella was slated to be in Los Angeles all throughout WrestleMania week.  She's currently slate...

Nixed Raw Plans, Michael Hayes, WWE Producers For Raw | Live Events Report

Producer

- Becky Lynch vs. IYO SKY, Miz TV: TJ Wilson

- Seth Rollins vs. Mustafa Ali: Abyss

- Brock Lesnar and Omos weigh in: Michael Hayes

- Braun Strowman, Street Profits & Ricochet vs. Alpha Academy & Viking Raiders: Jason Jordan

- Chelsea Green & Sonya Deville vs. Michin and Candice LeRae: Molly Holly

- Damian Priest vs. Rey Mysterio: Jamie Noble

- GUNTHER vs. Dolph Ziggler: Shawn Daivari

- Cody Rhodes vs. Solo Sikoa: Michael Hay...

WWE Sale Rumors, More On Talent/Staff Thinking Vince Is More Involved

Those in the company that we've spoken to say they expect "business to pick up" in April, specifically after WrestleMania. We've been told by several in WWE that having WrestleMania in Los Angeles around the time of a potential sale and rights fee renewals was a positive strategic situation for the company.

While a CNBC analyst said that Comcast is out on a potential WWE sale, Fightful had spoken with sources at Comcast with knowledge of the product. It was widely accepted that even tho...

The List Goes On: WWE Sale, Vince, More

SRS and Jimmy Van CHAT!

VIDEO: https://youtu.be/kBStVqoXCLE

Select Portions: Matt Jackson, Mania Week, Goldberg, Jody Threat, More

- Impact sources say Jody Threat did indeed sign with the company.

- Chris DeJoseph's Turning Point USA page has already been deleted from their site.

- We're told that the booking in Israel that was mentioned for Goldberg was a pitch for him to work a match there.

- We can confirm Matt Jackson has a legit injury. We're told that he will miss quite a bit of time, and was not at last week's AEW Dynamite.

- We're told many of the wrestlers are getting into LA on Tuesday....

Select Style: AJPW, GLEAT, NJPW Deliver, STARDOM Filled With Chaos

Scott Edwards is back with another edition of the Select Style podcast to discuss all the major shows of this week from AJPW, DDT, GLEAT, NJPW, and STARDOM. He ends the show talking Japan in WrestleMania Week.
Here are all the promotions covered in this week's episode:
- AJPW
- DDT
- GLEAT
- NJPW
- FREEDOMS
- SEAdLINNNG
- STARDOM

Alex & Kate's SOUR GRAPS: Raw 3/27 | But What Does Brock Weigh Though

(Stream Starts At 10:10pm)

We got to watch the most predictable MizTV in history.

Mustafa Ali finally got his match against Seth Rollins. And got squashed.

We don't know how much Brock weighs. I feel like the match has to be cancelled.

We already saw all the teams in the Men's Tag Showcase fight each other tonight so we don't need to see that match this weekend.

Three of the four teams in the Women's Tag Showcase have been literally thrown togeth...

WWE Raw Plans for tonight

Fightful has learned the following plans for WWE Raw, subject to change

Please be cognizant of those who wish to avoid spoilers, and refrain from screenshotting and reposting the entire rundowns on social media. 

- Miz TV with Becky Lynch, Lita & Trish Stratus

- SPOILER MATCH

- Asuka video package

- Rollins/Logan Paul story

- Seth Rollins vs. Mustafa Ali

- Brock Lesnar and Omos weigh in

- Braun Strowman, Ricochet & Street...

We asked about the Brand to Brand invitational for some reason. It's dead.

In a huge shocker (see, that's a joke) he "Brand to Brand Invitational" is effectively dead, WWE sources tell Fightful. 

The move was one of many ideas -- Raw dark, Wild Card rule, no commercials during matches -- that WWE implemented in order to boost ratings, and it was quickly forgotten and rarely referred to. Intermittently when a wrestler would appear on an opposing brand, the "brand to brand invitational" would be referred to.

Originally, the rule was to allow a talen...

SRS Backstage Report Podcast 3/27: CM Punk, Goldberg, Zayn

- Lots on CM Punk/AEW, including more than last week's update

- Goldberg

- Sami Zayn

- WWE PLE

- Alicia Atout

- Dax Harwood, FTR

- Act Yasukawa

- Hammerstone

- AEW All Out

- Masha

- Theory

- Yoya

- More!

Select Portions: Cody Rhodes, Nikki Cross, Raw notes

- NikkI Cross told Fightful's Joel Pearl that her college dissertation deadline is May 1. Her and Big Damo are planning on going on a vacation after that and she's considering pursuing a PHD.

- Cody Rhodes' weight belt for Mania leaked, with names of all of the companies he's worked. For those asking, All In, ROH, and AEW were all included.

- WWE was looking to emulate UFC weigh ins, complete with towels, as of this weekend for Brock Lesnar and Omos. However, the only reason towel...

WWE higher up pushes back on notion Sami Zayn isn't seen as a "top guy"

For all the talk about certain WWE higher ups not seeing Sami Zayn as a main event talent, WWE pushed back on that.

A WWE higher up began speaking with Fightful around the Elimination Chamber PPV, speaking on the progression of Sami Zayn, and the rumors that WWE didn't view him as a top performer. While the higher up spoke on the condition of anonymity, they said that the company has been ecstatic about Zayn's performance and crowd reactions.

"He's headlined a PPV, he is the focal...

Select Portions: Austin Theory, Nikki Cross, More

- Nikki Cross tells Fightful that one of the inspirations for her character is Jack Nicholson in the Shining. She wanted the character to be unpredictable and emotional.

- Former WWE writer and head of creative Chris DeJoseph is now working as Creative Director of Productions at Turning Point USA, Charlie Kirk's conservative nonprofit.

- NXT is planning some sort of media scrum following Stand and Deliver, per usual.

- We're planning on List & Ya Boy airing Tuesday this ...

Magazine Archives: Why the “Fire Pro Wrestling” Series Matters

By Rob Sutter from FightfulMag.com issue 4

***

In 1998, I was introduced to the world of wrestling video games with WCW/nWo Revenge for the Nintendo 64. This opened my mind to a genre that has stayed with me throughout my adult life. However, as I played the various games bearing the World Championship Wrestling and the World Wrestling Federation licenses, little did my younger self know that another series had been ongoing a decade prior...

Fightful Weekender (3/26): GCW, MLW, BLP, WRESTLING OPEN, SHP, NWA, NXT LEVEL UP, WRESTLEMANIA PREDICTIONS

STEPHEN JENSEN is back with a new episode of the WEEKENDER!

Topics:

- GCW: "Worst Behavior" results

- MLW: "Underground" (3/21) results

- BLP: "Observe This, Brother!" results

- WRESTLING OPEN (3/23) results

- SHP: "Passing By" results

- NWA: "Powerrr" (3/21) results

- NXT Level Up (3/24) results

- NXT: "Stand & Deliver" predictions

- WWE: "WrestleMania 39" predictions

Ronda Rousey pushed for tag team run

Ronda Rousey's creative changed significantly based on what it was originally pitched to be for WrestleMania.

Fightful Select had reported over the past months that originally, Ronda Rousey was scheduled to face Raquel Rodriguez at the WWE Royal Rumble, where she was scheduled to retain the WWE Smackdown Women's Championship. We were told that was the plan until December, when creative couldn't be agreed upon heading into the WrestleMania season.

By that time, Rhea Ripley had long...

Alex's SOUR GRAPS: AEW Rampage Watch-Along 3/25 | The Eye of the Tiger

(Stream starts at 10:00pm est!)

So there are some fun matches set up for tonight's Rampage.  Like fourteen people are going to watch the show since it's on a different night, but whatever. The most important thing is this: HOW HAS CM PUNK NEVER SEEN A ROCKY MOVIE!?

So maybe we'll talk about that, mostly? Maybe we'll do a Q&A thing? Guest alternate commentary from Linda? Maybe some special guests?

Who knows?  All I know is that Everything Sucks....

Why WWE selected some locations for PLE events

WWE has a concentrated effort for their PLE events.

WWE has been going to Stadiums and international territories, in addition to places like Puerto Rico that they haven't been in 18 years. Fightful Select spoke with WWE sources who confirmed that the effort was made to maximize the buzz around said shows.

WWE has been putting extra care into the selection of PLE locations, and drastically changed its ap...

Smackdown Live Events Report: Bray Wyatt, Producers, SWIFTIES

WWE Smackdown Producers

- Cody Rhodes vs. Ludwig Kaiser: Michael Hayes

- Charlotte Flair promo: Adam Pearce

- Rey Mysterio vs. LA Knight: Kenny Dykstra

- Lacey Evans & Xia Li vs. Natalya & Shotzi: Petey Williams

- IC Title Contract Signing: Jason Jordan

- Butch vs. GUNTHER: Jason Jordan

- KO Show: Michael Hayes

Backstage News

- Cody Rhodes, Street Profits vs. Bloodline dark match was produced by Jason Jordan. Kevin Owens & Sami...

Select Portions: Matt Cardona, Masha, WrestleMania Odds

- Fightful's Joel Pearl spoke to Matt Cardona for a new interview that had almost no news, but will at least have a good headline. He also said that winning the ECW TV Title from Rhino (not recognized by WWE) was a dream come true for him.

Masha

Fightful's Joel Pearl spoke to Masha Slamovich for a new interview. She stayed in Canada all week ahead of the IMPACT tapings this past weekend in Windsor. She said that it's important for her to be unrestrained and t...

Select Portions: AEW injuries, Mickie James, Masha, More

- Fightful's Joel Pearl spoke to Matt Cardona for a new interview that had almost no news, but will at least have a good headline. He also said that winning the ECW TV Title from Rhino (not recognized by WWE) was a dream come true for him.

- As noted on our live Q&A Friday, Mickie James sustained a rib injury. IMPACT is hoping that she can end up working Rebellion. We're told she was injured at the last set of tapings.

- Fightful Select has learned that both Trench ...

Smackdown Plans, Spoilers, More

Fightful has learned the following Smackdown plans, subject to change

Please be cognizant of those who wish to avoid spoilers and do not screenshot and repost the full rundown, but summaries are fine. If you do, you have to eat the lice from Billi Bhatti's hair.

- Cody Rhodes vs. Ludwig Kaiser

- Charlotte promo

- Rey Mysterio vs. LA Knight

- WrestleMania showcase qualifier: Natalya & Shotzi vs. Lacey Evans & Xia Li

- IC Title Contract Sig...